In this weekend’s edition of The Irish Times, Keith Duggan interviews celebrated author Salman Rushdie about his memoir, Knife, a recollection of a sinister life-threatening episode he experienced. Additionally, John Self converses with Ingrid Persaud regarding her fresh tale, The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh, while Niamh Donnelly discusses Nuala O’Connor’s recent novel, Seaborne. Meanwhile, Peter Murtagh, author of From Tip to Top, recounts riding his motorcycle across Americas (both North and South), stresses the angst he encountered regarding gun control in Texas and Arizona, despite never feeling the need for a firearm himself. In addition, director Pat Collins delves into his award-winning conversion of John McGahern’s concluding novel with Donald Clarke and there’s a revealing Q&A with Sparks of Bright Matter author, Leeanne O’Donnell.
The paper features an array of reviews including Paul Gillespie’s take on Circle of Stars, A History of the EU and the People Who Made It authored by Dermot Hodson and Nationalism in Internationalism: Ireland’s Relationship with the EU penned by Michael Holmes and Kathryn Simpson, among others. Moreover, Houman Barekat scrutinizes Rushdie’s Knife: Meditations after an Attempted Murder and a wealth of other novels get critiqued by discerned reviewers.
The Hubert Butler Essay Prize, now in its seventh year, continues to cast a spotlight on crucial themes present in Butler’s work and globally – subjects like borders, personal and communal identities, the misuse of political authority, managing a pandemic and the tension occurring between individual and societal morals, particularly during a period ominously peppered with global conflict and crisis.
This year’s focus is ‘How do distorted narratives of conflict due to altered facts and the replacement of history with memory, influence the chances of peace talks?’ We aim to facilitate a deep dive into the benefits and consequences of manipulating historic facts, particularly in times where intense disagreements have evolved into harmful situations. Furthermore, we hope to spark discussions on the implications of prioritizing ‘memory’ over ‘historical facts’. Butler’s devotion to clear thinking and his readiness to accept unsettling truths is greatly required today, more than ever. The essay form, as excellently demonstrated by him, is an unparalleled vehicle to convey these fundamental pursuits.
€1,500 is the first prize, and there are two consolation prizes of €500 each. The panel of judges includes Roy Foster (chairman), Barbara Schwepcke, Catriona Crowe, and Nicky Grene. Entries can be made till June 29th. The winner will be declared on August 13th at an award ceremony held in Kilkenny, presented by Olivia O’Leary.
The Borris House Festival of Writing & Ideas is scheduled from June 7th to 9th and the programme of events is now available. Tickets for the last day and the first day are still on offer, but the tickets for Saturday and the entire weekend are sold out.
Taking place in Borris, Co Carlow, this event attracts writers from around the globe – around 80 attendees in total. Aside from unique and exclusive writer interactions, the festival now includes theatre and music performances as feature events.
The lineup this year features acclaimed names such as Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Strout, Minnie Driver, Ocean Vuong, Adam Clayton, Jon Ronson, Nick Broomfield, Cerys Matthews, Ruby Wax, Sebastian Barry, Kevin Barry, amongst many others. The event is indeed a grand gathering of global literary figures.
In an exciting round of announcements this year, an event has been scheduled for Sunday, 9th June at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin. Esteemed attendees will include Margaret Atwood, Laurie Anderson, and Mary Robinson, who will be hosted by John Kelly, a well-known writer and broadcaster. Visit bordgaisenergytheatre.ie for more information.
In the literary realm, the West Cork Literary Festival, an event encompassing eight days of activities devoted to the appreciation of literature, will commence in Bantry from July 12th to 19th. The festival will feature a diverse array of activities, including masterclasses, readings, workshops, book launches, author interviews, and other significant events.
A robust line-up of authors, such as Anne Enright, Colm Tóibín, Adania Shibli, and David Nicholls, will be participating this year. Festival director, Eimear O’Herlihy, expressed enthusiasm for the positive responses they had received so far, and stated that the festival’s popularity was on the rise as a must-visit event. To book your place in this literary festival, visit westcorkmusic.ie/LFprogramme or call 027 527 88.
Also, marking its commencement this year, the first-ever Banagher Brontë Festival will take place from Friday to Sunday, April 19th-21st. This event kicks off at 7pm on Friday with a specially curated performance centred around Charlotte Brontë for the Banagher Brontë Group. Notably, all events on Saturday will take space at Crank House beginning at 11 am with Joanne Wilcock’s talk on Charlotte Brontë’s husband, Arthur Bell Nicholls, titled ‘Falling in Love with Arthur’.
Author and Brontë expert, Pauline Clooney, will examine the ambiguous interval in Charlotte Brontë’s career from 1852 to 1855 during her midday presentation, Currer Bell’s Silent Years 1852-1855. The focus will be on her journey to becoming a published author and her perception of a literary career, shedding light on her unexplained non-writing period until her demise in 1855.
Afterward, at half-past two, an illustrated presentation on the Art of Branwell Brontë will be given by Dr. Maebh O’Regan. The Brontë family’s long-standing ardour for art, primarily stimulated by Thomas Bewick’s woodcut prints, will be explored. James Scully is the contact for additional information. Reach out on 085 710 7569 or via banagherbrontegroup.com.
Once more, an Open Mic for Gaza will take place on Global Pay It Forward Day—Sunday, 28th April. Between 7 and 9 pm, the Zoom-hosted fundraising event will spotlight a host of distinguished guests, including Michelle Gallen, Catherine Dunne, and Juliana Adelman, with 15 flexible mic slots for readers/performers. All contributions will be donated to the Children’s Fund founded by Ghassan Abu Sittah.
Annually, the Write By The Sea literary festivity, which takes place in Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford, has successfully forged a publishing collaboration with The Waxed Lemon, a literature-based periodical from Waterford.
The 2024 Write By The Sea writing contest will feature the works of the winners of its four categories in the Winter 2024 issue of The Waxed Lemon. In addition to featuring their work in print, each victor will be awarded €500, plus a complimentary weekend pass to the Write By The Sea festival. The runners-up will receive €300, and €200 will be allocated to those in third place. The deadline for submissions is 21st June at writebythesea.ie/writing-competition/.
Joanne McCarthy from The Waxed Lemon expressed her excitement about the collaboration, noting the prestige of having one’s work in print and the festival’s reputable status in Ireland’s literary circuit.
The upcoming exhibition titled “A Deep Well of Want: Photographs and Archives of McGahern Country,” features the stunning photography of Paul Butler. Butler’s work showcases the rustic landscapes and fleeting rural existence of Co. Leitrim and its neighbouring regions, areas deeply linked to author John McGahern. The exhibition will launch as a segment of the Cúirt Festival, taking place on the 24th of April between 4pm and 5pm, in Room G10 of the Hardiman Building at the University of Galway. The event will include an insightful Q&A session led by the curators and moderated by Prof Tom Inglis from the McGahern Barracks Museum.
The exhibit is harmoniously complemented by an assortment of archives and literary manuscripts from the John McGahern Archive, safeguarded at the University of Galway Library and curated by Dr. Barry Houlihan. The combination delivers a comprehensive visual and documentary experience of the McGahern Country, enlightening visitors about the locations, thoughts, and concepts that fed McGahern’s literary vision.
This exhibition aligns with the Cúirt Festival of Literature and houses the most considerable collection of manuscripts and materials from the McGahern archive ever displayed. Together with Paul Butler’s striking photography, it provides a distinctive chance for visitors to delve into the visual and narrative realms of McGahern and Co. Leitrim.
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize, recognised globally as a prominent indicator of rising literary talent, has announced its shortlist, featuring 23 authors hailing from 13 countries. For the first time, writers from Mauritius, Rwanda, and St Kitts and Nevis have made the cut, signalling the award’s expanding reach. Past winners of this prestigious award include Sharma Taylor, Kevin Jared Hosein (both Caribbean) and Fijian Mary Rokonadravu. Many shortlisted writers often secure publishing deals and representation. This year’s themes are intriguing, with stories exploring gender transition, ponderings on motherhood and a wealth of speculative fiction. The regional winners will be unveiled on the 29th of May, with the overall champion being announced on the 26th of June.
The finalists for both the Jhalak Prize and Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize 2024 have been unveiled. The Jhalak Prize shortlist is brimming with riveting fiction, a candid depiction of present-day multiethnic London, charming non-fiction centred around geography and nature, a daring narrative of true crime, and a recognised poet.
The shortlist for Jhalak Children’s and Young Adult Prize includes stimulating youthful fiction, vibrantly designed picture books, a YA suspense, and a confident first attempt for middle grade readers. True to previous years, the shortlists boast the extraordinary standard and variety of works crafted by authors of colour from the UK and Ireland today.
The director of the prize, Sunny Singh, shared: “The Jhalak Prize shortlists are a testament to outstanding literary skills in modern-day Britain, branding them as upcoming classics. I admire the bravery needed to discuss challenging themes and ideas, combined with the mastery of the selected genre and form articulated by our shortlisted authors. These works tackle themes around belonging and its cost, combating injustice with optimism, and the bravery of persisting even when faced with insurmountable odds. Above all, these books disclose moral bravery, making the books on our 2024 shortlists essential, timely, and enduring.”
The shortlisted works for the Jhalak Prize consist of: A Flat Place by Noreen Masud; Anansi’s Gold: The Man Who Swindled The World by Yepoka Yeebo; Boundary Road by Ami Rao; Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks; Self-Portrait As Othello by Jason Allen-Paisant; Twelve Words For Moss by Elizabeth-Jane Burnett. The Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize 2024 shortlist features Geoffrey Gets the Jitters by Nadia Shireen; How to Die Famous by Benjamin Dean; Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan; Steady for This by Nathanael Lessore; To The Other Side by Erika Meza; and Wild Song by Candy Gourlay.
The victorious authors will be named at the British Library on the 30th of May. Each of them will be awarded with £1,000 and a custom-made piece of art as a segment of the ongoing Jhalak Art Residency.